bríathar

See also: briathar

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *breitrā (“word”), also "battle," perhaps related to *brē-, *bri- (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“to strike”); compare Welsh brwydr (“fight, combat”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲɾʲiːa̯.θəɾ/
  • (Blasse) [ˈbʲɾʲiːa̯.θaɾ]
  • (Griffith) [ˈbʲɾʲiːa̯.θəɾ]

Noun

bríathar f (genitive bré(i)thre, nominative plural bríathra)

1. word
2. (grammar) verb

For quotations using this term, see Citations:bríathar.

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	bríatharL	bréthirL, bréithir	bríathraH
vocative	bríatharL	bréthirL, bréithir	bríathraH
accusative	bréthirN, bréithir	bréthirL, bréithir	bríathraH
genitive	bréthreH, bréithre	bríatharL	bríatharN
dative	bréthirL, bréithir	bríathraib	bríathraib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• dobríathar

Descendants

• Irish: briathar
• Manx: breear
• Scottish Gaelic: briathar

Mutation

Mutation of bríathar

radical	lenition	nasalization
bríathar	bríathar pronounced with /βʲ-/	mbríathar

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bríathar”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 77